Endless debate: monitor + sub vs floorstanding

Me thinks you have been reading to many "Harlequin" romance novels.

Sounds like the sub has put him into "The O Zone" lol :)

In the cost-no-object arena (ca. a 20K+ sub/monitor or full-range speaker)--- I'd say both set-ups can be great. That said, trade-offs exist at reasonable cost. A sub/monitor combo at a combined cost of 5K vs a fine full-range speaker at 5K --- now I'd go with the full-range speaker more often than not. Subwoofers at the 1.5K range are typically boomy, slow and do not integrate well and the coherence of the full range speaker will win out far more often than not. This is especially true when trying to mate a sub with a planer speaker (Maggies, or the like).

I have also heard many try to mate a modest subwoofer (or multiple subs) with lowthers and other horns --- man... I would take a full range speaker over that almost any time as the incoherence is a problem.

That said... with a high performance, really good sub or an array of such subs one can do quite well.

The point... it all depends --- as system cost goes up the two choices become more equal --- at lower cost the trade-offs are manifest (bad coherency, unnatural sound in the sub/monitor combo and bass control in the full range --- to varying degrees.

I have owned systems of both types and generally prefer the full range speakers.

Generalizing here...

I'd take two fullrange speakers over two monitors + one sub. If it's two monitors + two subs vs two fullrange... well it's close, but probably the two + two. And I'd take two monitors + fours subs over the two fullrange speakers. In each case, I'm favoring the system that gives me the greater number of and flexibility with independent bass sources; as a general principle, the more in-room bass sources you have, the smoother the in-room bass response. This according to Earl Geddes, whose ideas about subwoofers I use with permission. The nice thing about starting out with one sub is, you can add another without having to recreate your entire system.

Duke
dealer/manufacturer

You should use subs (2,3,4) even with floor standers. By having the super lows go into a powered sub, you are saving your amp from straining....a good thing.